Sin With a Scoundrel: The Husband Hunters Club by Sara Bennett Page B
Authors: Sara Bennett
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was a nice enough man, but she wasn’t attracted to him; if anything, she felt a little sorry for him.
Tina gave a nervous laugh. “Actually I am famished. Should a well-brought-up lady admit to such a thing?”
He smiled back, his blue eyes twinkling, as if he found her completely captivating.
“Didn’t finishing school teach you the answer to that?” Horace put in. He’d obviously been listening. “ ’Though I’d be sorry if it polished too much of the old Tina from you. Girls are all the same these days, and you are refreshingly different.”
Had Horace offered her a compliment?
“I doubt anyone could change our plainspoken Tina,” Anne teased. “And like Horace I would hate to think she had become like all the other young ladies in London society.”
Charles laughed, too, and something about the way he was looking at Anne tugged at Tina’s attention, but then Lady Isabelle Arlington interrupted, and she forgot it.
“The notion that a girl needs to be ‘finished’ before she is of marriageable material is quite absurd.”
There was a hush, as there usually was when the eccentric Lady Isabelle expressed her opinion in company. She had insulted so many people that it was only her aristocratic family connections and her wealth that ensured her continued welcome in society.
“I’m sure ‘absurd’ is too harsh a word,” Lady Carol said, her face stiff with disapproval. “Tina has learned a great deal from attending Miss Debenham’s. The establishment has a fine reputation, and many of its young ladies have risen high in society.”
“You might as well put a placard on them. Sold to the highest bidder.”
Tina choked back a giggle. Because Lady Isabelle really had gone too far this time, and she could see her mother was almost bursting to say aloud the unflattering things she was thinking. Lady Carol cast a glance at Sir Thomas that promised “words” later on. It was he who had invited Sir Henry and Lady Isabelle. And Mr. Eversham as well!
As if the thought of him had made the sight of him irresistible, Tina found her gaze seeking him out, way down the table. She had to know what Mr. Eversham thought of this conversation.
Chapter 12
H e was looking right back at her, his gray eyes warm and smiling, his handsome face alight with enjoyment. She realized then, with a leap of her heart, that he had sought her out, too, and they were sharing a special moment. Tina relished it, knowing that for this fraction of time she and Mr. Eversham were in perfect harmony. But a heartbeat later she came to her senses and looked down at her soup, the color rising to her cheeks, her fingers trembling slightly as she lifted the spoon.
“My dear.” Sir Henry, with his deep, measured tones, was used to calming the agitated atmosphere around his wife. “We all know your views on the marriage mart, but there have been some very happy marriages made without the participants feeling more than a modicum of affection for each other.”
“But without love,” Lady Isabelle declared dramatically, “we never truly live.”
There were some hastily disguised sniggers around the table.
“My dear,” her husband insisted, a warning in his eyes.
“I agree with Lady Isabelle,” Horace murmured at Tina’s side. “It would be the very devil to marry a woman one didn’t like, just for her fortune or her connections. How would one ever go home, knowing she was there?”
She flashed him a smile, feeling too shaken up to say anything. What would Horace think of her if he knew what she was planning? Suddenly, she wished she could sink beneath the table and vanish completely.
“What do you think, Mr. Eversham?” Horace raised his voice. He must have known he was causing mischief, but he didn’t care. As Tina well knew, Horace had always enjoyed causing mischief.
Richard Eversham smiled politely, but his eyes were no longer warm. “I think if marriages always began smoothly, then I would have a great deal of
Tina gave a nervous laugh. “Actually I am famished. Should a well-brought-up lady admit to such a thing?”
He smiled back, his blue eyes twinkling, as if he found her completely captivating.
“Didn’t finishing school teach you the answer to that?” Horace put in. He’d obviously been listening. “ ’Though I’d be sorry if it polished too much of the old Tina from you. Girls are all the same these days, and you are refreshingly different.”
Had Horace offered her a compliment?
“I doubt anyone could change our plainspoken Tina,” Anne teased. “And like Horace I would hate to think she had become like all the other young ladies in London society.”
Charles laughed, too, and something about the way he was looking at Anne tugged at Tina’s attention, but then Lady Isabelle Arlington interrupted, and she forgot it.
“The notion that a girl needs to be ‘finished’ before she is of marriageable material is quite absurd.”
There was a hush, as there usually was when the eccentric Lady Isabelle expressed her opinion in company. She had insulted so many people that it was only her aristocratic family connections and her wealth that ensured her continued welcome in society.
“I’m sure ‘absurd’ is too harsh a word,” Lady Carol said, her face stiff with disapproval. “Tina has learned a great deal from attending Miss Debenham’s. The establishment has a fine reputation, and many of its young ladies have risen high in society.”
“You might as well put a placard on them. Sold to the highest bidder.”
Tina choked back a giggle. Because Lady Isabelle really had gone too far this time, and she could see her mother was almost bursting to say aloud the unflattering things she was thinking. Lady Carol cast a glance at Sir Thomas that promised “words” later on. It was he who had invited Sir Henry and Lady Isabelle. And Mr. Eversham as well!
As if the thought of him had made the sight of him irresistible, Tina found her gaze seeking him out, way down the table. She had to know what Mr. Eversham thought of this conversation.
Chapter 12
H e was looking right back at her, his gray eyes warm and smiling, his handsome face alight with enjoyment. She realized then, with a leap of her heart, that he had sought her out, too, and they were sharing a special moment. Tina relished it, knowing that for this fraction of time she and Mr. Eversham were in perfect harmony. But a heartbeat later she came to her senses and looked down at her soup, the color rising to her cheeks, her fingers trembling slightly as she lifted the spoon.
“My dear.” Sir Henry, with his deep, measured tones, was used to calming the agitated atmosphere around his wife. “We all know your views on the marriage mart, but there have been some very happy marriages made without the participants feeling more than a modicum of affection for each other.”
“But without love,” Lady Isabelle declared dramatically, “we never truly live.”
There were some hastily disguised sniggers around the table.
“My dear,” her husband insisted, a warning in his eyes.
“I agree with Lady Isabelle,” Horace murmured at Tina’s side. “It would be the very devil to marry a woman one didn’t like, just for her fortune or her connections. How would one ever go home, knowing she was there?”
She flashed him a smile, feeling too shaken up to say anything. What would Horace think of her if he knew what she was planning? Suddenly, she wished she could sink beneath the table and vanish completely.
“What do you think, Mr. Eversham?” Horace raised his voice. He must have known he was causing mischief, but he didn’t care. As Tina well knew, Horace had always enjoyed causing mischief.
Richard Eversham smiled politely, but his eyes were no longer warm. “I think if marriages always began smoothly, then I would have a great deal of
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